LEGO Super Heroes Arctic Batman vs Mr Freeze 76000

This might just be my favorite Lego Batman set... and I have quite a few! First, it's the iconic Bat-boat, which looks even better in real life than it does on the box! The minifigures are completely unique... I mean, Batman is in arctic camouflage. That in itself is incredibly rare! Then there’s the block of ice. Ingenious! It is designed to break apart, releasing the hero trapped within and it adds to the fun of the whole thing. Mr. Freeze is intricately detailed and his suit is everything you’d expect for the villain. The addition of Aqua man might be a point of contention for some people. Some people love him, others don’t. But including other DC heroes with Batman sets has actually made them all that much more fun, and bright!Building the Set: The ice block is simple and takes a few moments. The boat is an intricate thing. It has a lot of details and requires about eight stickers (which are sometimes difficult for me to put on the Lego pieces because they are small). All in all I’d say that the boat wasn’t very difficult to build though. The instructions were great and even though there’s a lot of cool stuff going on with the boat, I didn’t get lost or find it difficult to put together.Features: The boat has it all! It has skis, a robust engine, a heads-up-display for Batman, two explosive depth charges hanging off the back and two incendiaries sitting on the wings that connect the two flanks of the boat. It is one of the coolest, most fun Lego sets I’ve ever put together. It has many details hidden inside that your Lego builder will enjoy. Aside from that, the boat just looks sleek! I can’t get over how cool it looks! The ice block fits one minifigure and can be broken apart using a cleverly hidden lever for a dramatic release of your hero.All in all, I was excited to get this set and even more thrilled at how it looked when I put it together. The playability, uniqueness and special set of minifigures make this set an instant hit for anyone looking for a toy, whether it’s your first time buying Legos or if you’re a collector!

April 3, 2013Previously Amazon was calling this the Arctic Baan set (*two* letters missing), but have now corrected it to Arctic Batman. I suppose it could have been confusing for some since the past spelling was closer to Bane, archrival of Batman. Humorously, Lego themselves misspelled "Arctic" on some locations on the box to "Artic."OK, enough diverging. This is an awesome set! Brand new series for 2013. Brand new Arctic Batman in a white suit (or as my young son says, white Batman), an updated Mr. Freeze (updated from the 2006 version), and a brand new character to the Lego world, Aquaman!As some background, Lego started the Batman series in 2006. Back then it was just the Batman series/movies characters. They updated some of the 2" minifigures in 2007, and Batman in 2008. There have been two versions of Batman in each update, a blue/gray one, and a black one.... until this yr (2013) with the white Batman of this set. Since 2008, the Batman series languished until Lego revamped the series in 2012 with other action heros and called it the Super Hero Universe, that is why, out of nowhere but not unwanted, does Aquaman appear. And there is a separation between the two major comic book (now movie) producers, DC and Marvel. Apparently Lego has decided to continue and update the series in 2013, and if the images on the mini-comic book included with this series is to judge, update of characters back from 2006/7.Note, the Lego sets from 2006/7 are now collector items and are upwards to six hundred dollars. If you just want to purchase a high quality toy for your child, you should not have to pay more than about $90 for any particular set. Also I wouldn't suggest, finance-wise, to purchase the minifigures separately, as Lego does not sell them (nominally) separately, but as part of sets. So you can purchase the Catwoman set for about $12 at this point in time and get the Batman and Catwoman mini-figures for less than if you would buy them separately (and then get additional items: Batarang, Catcycle, jet pack, Catwhip, diamond, etc.)This set has 198 pieces, a respectable number, so it's not an instant build, but not too bad for experienced Lego builders. The Batboat is awesome, and both of my children love it. And the ice cage that Aquaman is frozen in, and broken free from by Batman, makes a dynamic item for kids to play with.For me, the most difficult part was applying the tiny decals. I would bring them just where I would want to put them and then static electricity would pull them at the last moment to some other location. I ended up using tweezers for them, so they might be useful to have handy.April 9, 2013 UpdateThe craft in this set may actually be the Batblade not the Batboat (the instructions don't specify). The 2006 series had a Batblade for ice and a Batboat for water... so there may be a Batboat set forthcoming!Also which just must have been released this week is the 2013 Arkham Asylum set. This is a mega set which has a pricetag above what I've typically seen at two hundred and twenty five dollars, but comes with a staggering 8 *key* minifigures and 1619 pieces!

perfect

This is a pretty good set for the price. LEGOs are pretty expensive of late, and to get some really obscure minifig you end up spending a decent amount. But this set goes against that which is nice. For what should be $20, you get 3 new minfigs, that are not found in any other sets. That's always a bonus. I have a whole bunch of standard Batmans from the older sets all the same. Here we get a new one. Mr. Freeze isn't bad. I am kind of torn about this one and the older sets from a few years ago.The highlight for me is Aquaman. He is a simple minifig, but he is deceptively cool. I like his figure a lot better than the Wonder Woman and Supman minfigs that came out already. I am hoping they keep fleshing out the Justice League in future releases. We still need the Flash, Green Lantern (not that Ryan Reynolds one) and depending if we are dealing with the New 52 or not, either Cyborg or Martian Manhunter.I didn't even talk about the boat yet. It's alright. I liked the hovercraft from the previous series better, for Batman's aquatic vehicle. It does have a neat feature. The way to shoot out the circular disks is pretty inventive and the high point on the boat for me. I kind of wish there wasn't as much yellow on it.